More of me gone!

On April 1st I decided it

was time to try and get

a bit of weight off..

by eating healthier.

As of today, I am 10# lighter, 

and have lost 2" off my waist!

Woohoo!

We are cooking more healthy,

non-processed foods.

Today's cooking jaunt included:

blueberry muffins

quinoa crusted quiche

I put both of them in the freezer,

to have for breakfast in the future.

We also cooked this:

chicken vegetable soup with rice

That's for dinner tonight!

For lunch we made a great salad,
with mixed greens, almonds,
kidney beans, and blueberries.

We are enjoying these new meals!

Small world moments

We can't believe how fast 

time is flying by...

It's almost May!

The countdown timer

is calling to me..

Are we going to be

ready when it's time to go?

The things that we wanted

to accomplish have all 

been done. 

It's a waiting game for

the buyout of the property.

If the flood hadn't come

and taken everything

but the structure,

we now would be 

biting our nails

waiting for a buyer.

The powers that be 

are still telling us late fall..

or early winter.

We don't want to stay

another winter!!

Last night was my every 6 week haircut.

I still go down to my old

stomping grounds of Hazleton

to my favorite hair salon.

When I'm down there, I take

the opportunity to have dinner

with my friend Karen.

We went to Applebees, 

and I was good..

grilled chicken spinach salad..

and only one bloody mary :-)

Her friend, Jack, happened 

to be in the area, and knew we

would be there.

He stopped by and sat

with us.

He owns an RV park north of

the Sacramento area of CA:

The Parkway RV Resort

It was great to talk to him

about his park..

and a bit about workkamping

as well. Maybe someday

we can stay there!

Today was a manicure/pedicure..

and our round of grocery shopping.

We took a nice walk

around the neighborhood.

George is now taking a nap..

and I'm getting sleepy myself!

Next weekend we are flying

to Houston to visit 

George's brother, Bill,

and his wife Connie.

We are looking forward

to a nice week-long vacation.

Of course we'll look around 

for some RV parks too!

Rainy day...then snow?

Say it isn't snow!!!

We've had one lazy day.

We spent most of the day

watching movies,

and the rain outside.

We rented 3 movies..George picked

'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'.

I had a hard time following it.

Good thing we watched that 

last night..I was on the computer

for the most part.

Today we watched

'Horrible Bosses',

and 'Iron Lady'.

I loved that one.

Meryl Streep was fabulous!

Sunday morning is my 'weigh in' day..

I lost another pound!

My total loss is 9# now..

not giving up yet :-)

Yesterday I baked some

blueberry muffins too:

They were fabulous!

Easy to make, healthy too!

Almond flour, eggs, cinnamon,

baking powder, honey,

and frozen blueberries.

We also were visited by

a few more birds:

Tomorrow is back to the grind

for me...more rain...

and in the western part of the state..

SNOW...

and lots of it!

Being healthy is expensive!

Busy couple of days!

Friday, George spent some time

going up above and

cleaning the roof, the awnings,

and the windows.

He was good enough to 

stop and take pictures 

once in awhile, since

I was at work :-)

Today was grocery day.

Saturday morning we usually

go through our cupboards,

writing a list of what

is running low.

We also go through some

recipes and come up with

meals for the week.

This is what $200 buys:

Now I have to put them all away!


Today was a beautiful sunny day.
George took his chainsaw out
and proceeded to cut down
some stray limbs that had
been torn loose by the flood.

I walked around seeing all

the wildflowers (and weeds!)

that are growing nearby.

The clouds started rolling in...

We headed in...

and George cut up a pineapple!

Nothing like fresh pineapple!

Now we're relaxing,

it's pouring down rain outside, 

with some nice thunderstorms.

Time to watch a movie!

Another weekend down

I know others have commented..

but time sure flies by!

I hope that once we are 

on the road, and I am

fully retired..

it will go much s l o w e r.

Saturday was a typical day..

laundry needed to get done..

George had things he wanted

to do in the yard.

I went for my every two week

pedicure. I think I remember

saying that I am budgeting 

for these even after retirement!

Of course, since it is now

sandal season..

For some reason, I can't 

get George to come with me!

Once I got home,

I found George busy

doing some things outside.

Being a nice day,

I grabbed the recliner,

a bottle of water,

and some nuts
for a snack.
Oh, by the way,
I'm still going strong
on my new way of eating.
I lost only 1 pound this
week, but my blood
pressure is back
to normal!

My fine feathered (and furry)
friends were going at
their eating too.

We were invited with
a co-worker to
watch our local
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Penguins play hockey last night.
They are a minor league
team for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The team is pretty good,
and ends up in Calder Cup playoffs
every season.
My co-worker Chris
brought his daughter Baylee..

..I made a new friend :-)

Today was just cleaning,
shopping for produce, and
other groceries..
and making good food
for next week's meals.

Tonight it's
Curry Coconut Chicken & Vegetables.

Yum!

Oh, I almost forgot!
George signed up for SS
on Saturday..
another step down!

Checking more things off the list

We are still awaiting news

of the FEMA buyout of 

our flooded property.

Actually, it's partially FEMA

funds, and partially PEMA

funds (PA Emergency Management Agency).

It's still looking like

 late fall - early winter when 

all will be said & done.

Tonight, we paid some bills..

and sent in the final payment

on the truck!

WOOHOO  ;-)

One debt down..

one to go!

We are going to put the

extra money saved

towards the RV payment..

paying it down faster.

 

Meantime, we picked up a

few more things..

 

trekking pole

 ..and George is happy with

his Pressure-Pro system.

This week George can start

the process of filing for Social Security.

In 3 months he will be 62.

In July we'll go to the nearest

US National Park -

Steamtown National Historic Site,

to get our lifetime pass.

 

Things are getting crossed off the list!

 

No Easter bunny here!

What a glorious day!

We started today by attending

Easter services at my home church.

It was packed, which was great!

After we got back home, 

we proceeded to make a 

lunch of artichokes and a small spinach salad.

I wanted to spend this afternoon

making some lunch fixings

to take to work.

We made a white bean salad,

quinoa with avocado,

and walnut pesto chicken.

I can grab these easier to take

to work to eat.

For some reason as we made

each dish I forgot to take pictures.

Week one was successful..

I lost 7 pounds!

It was beautiful outside,

so we took the bedroom TV

and hooked it up in the basement..

I wanted to watch the Masters, 

so George took out my 

recliner for me.

I got some sun..

George putzed a bit..

...watched the Masters..

..and dozed off..

 

Doesn't everyone doze off watching golf?

Even though Phil Mickelson didn't win..

Bubba did...and it was a great ending!

Blood Sugar Solution - one week down

Last week after years of yo-yo dieting,

I decided to try a more healthful

way of eating.

So I bought the 'Blood Sugar Solution'

book on my Kindle.

I took the time to read most of it..

skipping over some of the more outlandish

ideas...like no cell phones (bad for your health!),

no microwaves..I perish the thought!

Basically it's going back 

to eating all fresh foods,

nothing 'out of a box',

no sugar

no caffeine

no white anything

no alcohol.

So, determined to give it a go..

if only for 6 weeks..

to see if I could get

through it.

It actually hasn't been 

all that bad..

in fact, I like it!

We've had some interesting meals.

Chicken lentil stew with Quinoa & Kale

 Our next adventure was with Tofu.

I've had tofu before, in Chinese food,

but not as a main meal.

It was pretty good!

Tofu stir fry with snow peas

 Tonight was the best..

I made polenta, and we topped it with

shrimp, tomatoes, onions, and spinach.

Mediterranean shrimp with polenta

So far so good.

I missed my morning coffee

for a few days, but I haven't

craved any sugar..

even chocolate Easter bunnies :-)

Happy Easter to all!

He is risen...

He is risen indeed!

 

This and that..

Another quiet weekend.

Started off on Friday night

going out for Greek!

We headed for a great place-

Theo's Metro

It's a terrific little Greek restaurant

in an old popcorn factory.

The tables are made from the

old popcorn carts. 

We started out with an

appetizer of spinach pie.

George had a Dolmades platter..

which was grape leaves with

spinach & ground beef.

I had Chicken Saganakey..

Grilled chicken with red wine sauce,

 feta cheese, onions, peppers and fresh tomatoes!

We were too stuffed for dessert :)

This will be our last meal 

at a restaurant for awhile.

I've been reading the 

'Blood Sugar Solution'

by Dr. Mark Hyman,

and have decided that

I need to get healthier

before we hit the road.

So..yesterday we bought

lots of fresh veggies, fruit

and non-processed food.

We started this morning

on our way to a healthier lifestyle.

Merikay has been posting how

they have made changes to their

eating habits, and it has inspired me.

I hope that we can stick to it.

It's hard to do, especially when

working full time. Last thing I want

to do is cook when I get home.

I need a personal chef!!

Soon enough I won't 

need to worry about the work thing.

Our time is getting closer!

Another feathered friend

has been dropping by:

That blue is gorgeous!